Saturday, July 8, 2017

A Single Methane ‘Bubble’ Explosion from Global Warming Could Cut Russia Off from 89 Percent of Its Natural Gas

Paul
Goble

Staunton, July 8 – Eighty-nine percent
of Russia’s natural gas production comes from the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous
District in the Russian Far North and passes via 17 high-pressure pipelines through
a single 500 by 500 meter area resting on permafrost on its way to European
Russia and foreign markets.

Not surprisingly, the Russian
government has taken the possibility of terrorist against these pipelines
seriously given their importance for electrical and heat production inside
Russia and for the money the gas they carry earns Moscow from its sale abroad
and has introduced extreme security restrictions on the area (agonia-ru.com/archives/9323).

As Gazprom has repeatedly
declared: “There is no alternative to the Yamal fields!” (cdu.ru/catalog/mintop/infograf/012015/). But just
like their Soviet predecessors, so too the Russian rulers of today, because of
their propensity for centralization and for ignoring the potential for natural
disasters, have done little to prepare any work around.Consequently, Russia’s natural gas production
or more precisely its ability to deliver it either to its own citizens who
depend on it for electricity and heat or to customers abroad is far riskier now
than anyone wants to admit or plan for.